Archive for August, 2009

[Spirit of full disclosure: you might wanna take a couple Tylenol before you try to wade through my interpretation of this card. Or a couple mushrooms. Or something.]

We last saw this fellow during Memorial Day weekend. I guess that means summer really is coming to an end. Might be worthwhile for you to take a Monet [or a moment – sometimes typos are much better than what you had intended] to remember what you had hoped of summer, how things worked out, and what you’d like to do about it. Me? I’ve still got the 25 pounds I wanted to be rid of by August.

I suppose I say Oh Bugger because this is a card that always gives me hives and hiccups. Really no attitude to have, perhaps, but the card leads me to say rude things and argue with God when it turns up for me. So I suppose I better pay [even more] attention [than normal] here. And if I must, you must. I’m not taking this hit all by myself, so there!

I feel MUCH better now. Thanks!

Where were we?

The Four of shields is, in part, a card about strategic planning with really honest, true objectivity. [I’m an Aquarian. Need I say more? See first two words above. The ones in red.]

As I said once before on this blog, I can come up with a brilliant, elegant project planning and tracking system for you if you like. Just don’t expect me to use the [bleepin’] thing. That scenario literally happened in an organization I worked for many years ago.

Anyway, as I say pretty much every time the Four of Shields turns up: this is one of those cards that clients, particularly intuitive, artistic clients, find incredibly less than charming! when it shows in a reading.

It IS, after all a very — Be grounded in ordinary reality as you work to take the next steps on your path until you are soaring − so eventually you CAN soar as you deserve to — kind of messenger.

But remember, O artistes, intuitivoes and others of our ilk (and I use the term ilk with the greatest of affection), there are times grounded behavior can be beneficial.

And hardly painful at all. Mostly. I’ve heard.

Wouldn’t know meself, then, would I? Apparently not, or I’d be doing all this for Neil Gaiman, Oprah and Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., who runs the New York Times.

[By the way, on that grounded until you get soaring thing: if, as you’ll see below, a key element of this card is to get yourself a wonderful mentor, why do we sometimes have trouble with wanting to do that or following through on it?

Is it because we’re not clear enough about who we really are and what our goal actually is? Hmmmmm…?

Because, you know, part of the REASON to hook up with a mentor is so that you can take an honest look at what some realistic goals might be, for the next part of your path, anyway. And sometimes we’re afraid those goals won’t seem good enough, to us or to others.

Well… Phooey that patootie!!!! {Cleaned that one up just in time!}

No matter how high or low the goal, it’s still a matter of one step at a time, over and over again. And the mentor can help you see that in a useful, perhaps even kindly and encouraging way. And perhaps help you get a handle on who you really are/who you’re trying to become as well.]

Where was I?

For me the Four of Shields basically says:

~ Be prepared to become concrete in your planning,

at least for the moment

[and don’t beat up on yourself if it ain’t easy]

~ Do this in the following way:

~ Find someone who is an acknowledged expert in

what you seek to achieve, and/or who is a

respected (especially by you) wizard in the successful

laying out of the kind of path you seek to walk

~ Work together closely, over some time to develop

YOUR plan

~ Follow that plan. And follow it carefully,

at least for some time into the foreseeable future

until you will naturally and inevitably soar

Once upon a time, this whole process was called, simply, Get yourself an amazing and powerful Mentor!And listen to that mentor’s guidance! AND FOLLOW THROUGH ON IT!!!!And that can still apply here.

In this blog, if you’re a regular, you know that I’ve used John Lennon and the Beatles as illustrations of following your bliss despite predictions of failure. (And if you’ve already read this story at least three times, READ IT AGAIN! Otherwise it’s back to hustling pay- as-you- go cell phones for you. Right?)

Well, aside from the fact that the Beatles were brilliant to the point of magical, they also were able to make some of their first huge leaps because of Brian Epstein. He was a superb businessman and their manager. He married his ordinary-reality-based magic to his aspirations to be a player on the music scene and to their incomparable artistry and passion. And the world was changed.

Now, maybe you don’t have a Brian-the-Wizard to pull out of your hat. Yet. But who and what DO you have? How can you access him/her/them? Give it some thought today, and take that concrete and valuable baby step along the path by actually accessing them!

Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. Help give them focus in ordinary reality by working closely and deeply with insights from someone who can help be an architect of their creation.

Bright blessings and tremendous success! Yeah! Yeah!Yeah!Yeah!

Quote for the Day: A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. ~ Oprah Winfrey

This fellow last appeared just a month ago. Before that, he showed up right regular on holidays like Christmas Eve and the first day of spring. When he showed up last month, I was given the following Spirit-based insight:

“Now… remember that EVERY day is a day of power, a day of connection, and a day of celebration. Live THAT, why don’t you?”

I should probably just end the session with that insight and walk away now, y’know? It’s plenty good information, and would save you a few minutes of additional reading to boot.

But NO-OOOO-OH. [Oh well. You’re a grown up. You can stop reading whenever you want to.]

Anyway…

Following a Shamanic spirituality as I do, I simply consider this the most powerful card in the deck. Let me describe it a bit as it’s portrayed by Anna-Marie Ferguson in her Legend deck.

There’s a beautifully muscled fellow sitting cross legged out in the woods under a bright full moon. His legs are shaggy and end in hooves. He has stag’s antlers protruding from his head. In his right hand he holds a golden torc ~ the old Celtic symbol of kingship ~ in his left a live serpent. He is surrounded by folk of the wood ~ fox, otter, boar, stag, frog.

It’s a beautiful, mystical, magical card.

The painting on the card is depicts images from the famous Gundestrup cauldron, a first century BC ritual silver vessel found deep in a Danish bog. Sacred, beautiful objects like this were ritually cast into bogs ~ which were considered places of mystery, power and great magic ~ as sacrificial gifts. [Better than tossing in the odd Ukrainian, I’d say. Although I suspect they they may have done a bit o’ that as well.]

Cernunnos, the fellow depicted in the card is the Celtic incarnation of the Horned God. He is considered to be the Lord of the Animals.

[In the spirit of full disclosure, in other decks, this card is often depicted by the devil, with some attendant negative interpretations. Even Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, alludes to the card’s primordial power, and emphasizes the need to channel this power positively and for good.]

But here is what I see in the card, based on many years of working with clients. This is a truly shamanic cardin that it says, “You have the capacity to connect with the realm of Spirit. You have an ability to bring Spirit through into ordinary reality in a way that can functionally, positively bring about change.

“Because you have that capacity ~ from the Shaman’s perspective ~ you have the OBLIGATION to develop it and use it for the highest and best of all.”

So, in this very sacred season [whatever season or day of the year it may be, as we have been informed above]

On This Date:1142 – With the aid of Hiawatha and Deganawidah, The Great Peacemaker, the Iroquois tribes establish the Confederation of the Haudenosaunee. (Some traditions date the Confederation to 1451.)

Very interesting card. Always a very interesting card − at least when I have seen it. It last showed up for us in June

For those of you who are regulars to the Blog, you know I’m about to say something like

Tens in any Tarot deck betoken the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, or even the end of one way of life and the beginning of another. So, if I were reading for you today and this card came up, I’d ask:

How do the things you have been experiencing – and more importantly, how do the things you have begun to long for in life just now – represent a strong message to you that you must allow yourself to acknowledge the end of a cycle and the powerful potential for you to move into something wonderful andnew, even miraculous?

How can you keep that in front of you, and not just for today?

How can you let today be part of something new that you BEGIN TODAY but may continue to pursue for some time to come?

Some readers see the Ten of Shields as gain, riches, or having to do with family abode. I ain’t gonna argue with an interpretation that betokens good things.

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck I use, indicates this card is about affluence, riches, inheritance, and possibly clan gatherings. As my grandmother often used to say about clan gatherings, “I’m always glad to see you all come. And I’m even happier to see you go!” I hear THAT!

I see the Ten of Shields as saying:

Time for a change.

Possibly time for a BIG change.

In pursuing that change, don’t look for the right person to help bring it about.

Look for the right groups and circles and organizations – possibly new ones to you – to become part of.

Be very careful to evaluate the GROUP energy or the GROUP dynamics of where you are and where you need to be.

If you were interviewing for a new job (or a new spiritual circle, or new club), it wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR enough to evaluate whether it felt like your prospective new boss (or leader, or pastor, or teacher, whatever) would be good to work with.

You’d really need to explore and be sure that the energy of the greater team, group, circle or organization felt positive, clean, imbued with integrity, excitement, spirit – whatever you need a boost of right now.

So:

Be open to the possibility that some element of your life is grinding its way to an end.

Understand that it may simply be TIME for that to happen – no judgment attached to the feeling. Just a necessity in your evolution.

Then look for the right GROUP energy to become part of to be supportive of you as you move onward and upward in your life.

Bright blessings and REALLY GOOD group connections!

Quote for the Day: We all not only could know everything. We do. We just tell ourselves we don’t to make it all bearable. ~ Neil Gaiman

On This Date: 1799 – Capture of the entire Dutch fleet by British forces under the command of SirRalph Abercromby and AdmiralSirCharles Mitchell during the Second Coalition of the French Revolutionary Wars. [Yeah, but wasn’t that, like, three ships and two cans of halibut loaf?]

As those of you who have read this blog for even only a few days will likely remember, Aces in any Tarot deck are cards of a new beginning. So, let’s ask again(and again and again, from time to time as the Universe recommends it):

~ How can you − how do you need to − begin your life anew, today, this moment?

~ What changes can you begin, even in small ways?

~ What potentials can you believe in, hope for, reach for and remember?

Expect The Universe will keep asking that question until you (yes, you! Don’t try to weenie out of it this time!) truly remember to ask it over and over again as a part of who you are!

Some readers feel the Ace of Spears has to do with invention or creation, and perhaps with an inheritance. Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, finds mental activity, revelation and beginning anew to be elements of the card’s meaning.

~ First, it reminds you tobecome very clear within yourself about something you want or some goal you would achieve. It is, therefore, important that you know specifically what you want to go after – perhaps some major wish in life, or perhaps just a current, interim, in-the-moment thing that will be helpful or fulfilling for a short time, or serve as a useful next step.

It is equally important that you be clear about why you want it. What are your true motivations, and are they really for the highest and best? So this card is also about being conscious of what you would do and have, and of your impact on the world. I think we could all spend a little more time on this one.

~ Then, once that first, more internal step is completed, the Ace of Spears directs you to use strong, clean, clear, non-repressive and non-repressed masculine energy as your model − think Dalai Lama, maybe? – and simply go after your wish or goal confidently, firmly and directly. (So it’s assertive rather than aggressive.) Know what you want for a new beginning. Pursue it. Yourself. Today!

What is your new beginning? Be clear in what you want. Be clear about the why of it. Go after it directly, the way anyone with a strong, positive masculine drive would. Do something concrete about it today.

Bright blessings and blissings and beautiful, knowing beginnings!

Quote for the day: As long as there are innocent nickels to be made from the gullible, Python-starved public, I shall be out there dressed in silly frocks and singing filthy lyrics. I’m coming your way in search of ancient dollars. ~ Eric Idle [My sentiments exactly.]

This guy showed up three times in the month of May and then disappeared. So it might be worth taking a moment to ask yourself how things just now are similar to how they were around then.

So.

This is a powerful, positive card [and I know bunches of folk who can use one at the moment], that encourages us to see the goodness flowing to us and our world. Even more, it asks that we believe in it and be open to it.

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, writes that this card betokens

wisdom and power,

conquest and conviction,

courage and ambition

balanced with

reason and fair play.

It can also herald a caring person with many responsibilities, so have an eye out for someone like that. [If it looks like me in your mind’s eye, you’re daft.]

I perceive The Emperor to be a card of intellect well used and accomplishment attained.

For some clients, I find that it indicates they may be thrust into a new position of power, even if they have not sought it. When that is the case, I ask that they accept the new responsibilities (and the attendant opportunities) graciously. I say something like:

“If the Universe didn’t think you were ready for this, it wouldn’t have put you in a position to receive it. So go for it and be brilliant about it! You can be, you know!!!!!”

Be open to the helpful counsel of others, so that a greater wisdom can be attained and acted on.

This is a card of progress and security. So believe in that – own that− as a true, evident and inevitable possibility.

Use your wonderful intellect very well today; that’s why you have it. Seek wisdom through the counsel of others who truly have something helpful to offer. Know that, through such actions, progress and security can be yours.

Bright blissings (yes, I meant to spell it that way)!

Quote for the Day: “A lot has been said about politicians; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate” ~ Eric Idle

[As Sir Terry Pratchett put it in his book, The Light Fantastic, “He moved in a way that suggested he was attempting the world speed record for the nonchalant walk.”]

This is one of those cards whose visual depiction can set a client whimpering and collapsing into themselves in a repetitive rocking motion the moment it’s seen. I suppose I can understand that. The name alone is enough to cause mewling in some of the heartiest guys I’ve read for − god bless both of ’em.

Some decks picture a fellow hanging by a rope upside down by one leg from a tree, possibly with his head about to take a major dunk in a fast flowing river.

Even my deck, Legendby Anna-Marie Ferguson pictures a passle-o- knights left hanging in a grove, one leg and both arms tied behind their backs to show that they were rendered powerless and had failed in a quest.

So I get why some readers interpret the card as indicating restriction, sacrificeor − at best − feeling drained. Sort of a Woody Allen card.

As the regular blog crew expects by now, I see the card differently. When it turns up for a client, whatever area of his or her life we’re examining, I usually say something like,

“First, what the card is saying to you is. ‘If you’ve been feeling stuck in place or like you’re so deep in a rut you can’t see over the edge, guess what? Good news! You really have been. You aren’t just a whining, puling little twit. And knowing that should actually make you feel better, Sparky!

“‘Second, it’stime for you to move up and out of that stuck space. And very soon, if not immediately!’”

And this is the how.

So pay attention.

The Hanged Man asks that you be extra vigilant in keeping your intuitive antenna up for strong, wise, functional, interested and caring energy that can and will help pull you out of your rut.

The help may come in small chunks, like a better-paying job that can move you forward − as opposed to winning the Mega Millions lottery. [Sorry! Remember, I’m just the messenger here. Dammit!] But the help will be there, maybe even is already here, and be there in the ways that can really benefit you.

Your mission then is to stay tuned in, be aware, notice the positive energy or helpful opportunity, reach out for it and grab onto it when it shows up, and use it to move you along to where you really want to be.

There is an additional directive from the Hanged Man.

The card basically says that, in those moments when the new, positive, helpful energy and opportunities aren’t readily apparent – and those moments happen to all of us − your mission is to refuse to get sucked into the old hopelessness/helplessness whirlpool.

Rather, use the time for prayer, meditation, shamanic journeying, etc.

Use the “fallow time” in practices that will help you become more fully connected to your truer, deeper, self and to the channels of spiritual power and assistance around you.

So:

Stay aware.

Stay much more aware than normal, in fact.

Know that positive energy and opportunities are there and will benefit you. Reach out and take hold of them, one by one, to get you where you intend.

If nothin’s shakin’, use the time for prayer, meditation, magical studies and spiritual practice to increase those elements that are of and for your highest and best.

Bright blessings and beautiful positive flow upward and away!

Quote for the day: The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner. ~ Anon. [Thanks, Margie!]

Wow! We haven’t seen this card since early December. I have no idea what that means!

The Moon is another one of those cards that has different meanings depending on who you studied with, where ya come from, and − if you’re a good reader and not just a good memorizer − the kinds of things you find your clients have gone through through when The Moon turns up to guide them.

Some readers say The Moon warns of darkness, hidden dangers and instability. Others stress the “Moony” aspects of fluctuating emotion, high levels of unconscious activity and intense dreams. I can accept that more easily.

For me, The Moon is first of all a card that betokens change.

Perhaps the change should be rhythmical and constantly evolving, like the changing of the moon itself.

In some cases I’ve intuitively perceived it to be a warning to change course, NOW!

At times I’ve found it indicative of the need toaccept that change will come, so get to work on determining what would be the best, happiest, most fruitful and healing way to have it – so that change doesn’t just get handed to you half -baked on a paper plate.

In this deck, because of the card’s embodiment as Morgan Le Fay, I find The Moon to have other important qualities and messages. First, it is a card of feminine empowerment. So − assuming you are of the feminine gender − own your power not just as a person, but as a woman. And let yourself contemplate what that distinction means to you.

Of course, if you’re masculine, this card directs that you more fully own your connection to the divine feminine, or to the artistic, intuitive, perhaps even Dionysian elements in your life.

And whether you are male or female, The Moon is a card that commands you to own your magic – whatever you understand that to be – and use it fully and well for the highest and best of all.

Work with your dreams. Seek the change that is desirable now. Honor and empower the feminine aspects in you. Own your magic and use it. Today.

Bright blessings!

Quote for the Day: The universe, they said, depended for its operation on the balance of four forces which they identified as charm, persuasion, uncertainty and bloody-mindedness. ~ Sir Terry Pratchett

Haven’t seen this card since early May. It’s a good one, I think, as we begin to look toward the end of summer [the sun is already silvering in the sky, after all] and move toward autumn.

As I said the last couple of times this card showed up, this is really one of those cards that a client only has to see for about a second before they start whining and puling. Can’t say I blame them, based on how the Eight of Swords is usually depicted.

Even in my Legend deck, the largest elements are Guenevere tied to the stake, wood piled about her, the executioner (looking very much like Lurch from the original Adams family) ready to set the pyre alight. Charmin’ all ’round, ’tis.

So when intuitive consultants (Tarot readers) typically offer interpretations along the lines of bad news, conflict, slander, crisis, regret and being held at a disadvantage − I suppose I can see why a client might whimper some.

However − as most of you have already begun to say under your breath – Neal doesn’t see it that way.

Let’s think about something for a second. Yes, we have to. Have another coffee for pity’s sake.

Why do people come to guys like me for a reading?

Be nice.

[I didn’t think my ex read the daily card. But then, who knew she could read?]

It should NOT just be to hear what’s gonna happen. It SHOULD be to learn what do THEY need to know that will help THEM maximize success and optimize outcomes?” BIIIIIIIG difference!

I like a phrase my wife shared with me. “Some American Indians think of prophecy as that which can be changed.”

So, you come to me for a reading. The Eight of Swords turns up. You start looking for a place to hide. You find you don’t fit under the table and you can’t jump from the window because we’re in a basement.

So I say,

Wait a minute! Don’t leap (or claw your way up ) to conclusions. The first thing this card is telling you is that, if you’ve been feeling bound, trapped, concerned that there’s some negativity trying to get you, you’ve been right. You’re not just being a wimp.

But! BUT!!!!! Look carefully at the card, Watson. The Queen is tied to the stake and about to become an order of crispy-crunchy, dipping sauce upon request. However, peer more closely and you’ll see there are knights coming over the hill, riding to her rescue. And, if you remember your old Richard Harris movies, they will succeed.

This card is a gift to you, warning you in advance of possible crisis and other down-side realities. And sure,if you freeze like a deer in the headlights, you will become Highway Delight.

How should you deal with this card? Do what Guenevere did.

Reach out.

Ask for help.

Let yourself receive help− help of all kinds from all appropriate levels.

Especiallyseek assistance from those who areextremely capableof helping you understand, take on and overcome the difficulties [or go after the new goals] that may be trying to creep up [or emerging].

That will lead you to the most positive outcome possible, and even to a successful turnaround of the situation.

This card offers an end to adversityand a new beginning.

Let me repeat that for greater effect:

This card offers

an end to adversity

and a new beginning.

But you have to reach out for it and grab the help when it’s there. (After all, don’t you owe it to all the rest of us to make your life, and thus the greater vibration, better?)

Feeling tied down? DON’T try to handle it alone. Reach out. Get general support from all those who care about you. Engage those who have the strength, skill and wisdom to help you free yourself and move on to new, bright possibilities. And make it a habit not to go solo any more. Reach out. Ask for help − of the highest and best kind.

Bright blessings, hope, peace and joy!

Quote for the day: It’s great to be here. It’s great to be anywhere.~ Keith Richards

[And yet another OhBooHiss on all of you sweet folk who thought, “Ah, any chapel would be a chapel perilous for you, Nealio boyo.”

I’ll have you know I’ve been to several services over the last couple of months and the Holy Water doesn’t hardly leave scars at all anymore much. Especially if I use aloe. However, I do leave scorch marks on the font. But that’s another issue.]

Anyway, this is a card that has only popped up for the blog one other time, and it’s one that has a lot of helpful guidance to it. It is, however, another one of those cards that has clients whimpering just from the visuals. Except for those who are superGoth. They just ask for directions so they can find the place.

The card, you see, (at least in the deck I use) portrays a knight who has ridden into a chapel to protect himself and his steed from a furious storm. He notices that the altar is without any adornment, save for a brightly flaming large golden candle. As he waits, and drips, he sees a giant, clawed, black hand reach in through the window high above the altar and make to extinguish the light.

Charmeeeeeng,yezno?

So, anyway, some readers believe the Eight of Cups conveys either turningaway from felicity and celebration, or the exact opposite [I guess it depends which side of bed the reader fell out of]. Others believe this is a card that calls for the querent (questioner) tolook for a deeper meaning in life; it is a time for soul searching.

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, finds this card to be about abandoning a path, a change of plans, and escaping an unhealthy situation, among other things.

Of course, I have my own particular take on the card. When it turns up for a client, I usually say things like

Thought for the Day: Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.In their gray visions they obtain glimpses of eternity; and thrill; in waking; to find they have been upon the verge of the great secret. ~ Edgar Allan Poe, from Eleonora

And Especially: The following comes from a presentation by the Foreign Minister of Russia at the Hague Peace Conference, 8/24/1898:

The maintenance of general peace, and a possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations, present themselves in the existing condition of the whole world, as the ideal towards which the endeavors of all Governments should be directed.

The humanitarian and magnanimous ideas of His Majesty the Emperor, my August Master, have been won over to this view. In the conviction that this lofty aim is in conformity with the most essential interests and the legitimate views of all Powers, the Imperial Government thinks that the present moment would be very favorable for seeking, by means of international discussion, the most effectual means of insuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and durable peace, and, above all, of putting an end to the progressive development of the present armaments. [Sigh.]

Hmmm… Last time we saw this fellow was New Year’s Day. Which would lead me, smartass that I am, to ask:

Ahem.

And how should you be looking upon today as though it were the beginning of an entirely new year, complete with hopes, aspirations and a profound ability to let go of the past? Hmmm…?

[This card also showed up a bit earlier in the winter holiday season, which allowed me to play up some of the mystical-shamanic-Christmas-y aspects of the Green Knight story. I’ll leave that information in at the very end for you to go through if you like.]

But what I want you to really latch onto for today (and for “the whole New Year to come”) is this:

Tens in any Tarot deck betoken the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, or even the end of one way of life and the beginning of another. So, if I were reading for you today and this card came up, I’d ask:

How do the things you have been experiencing – and more importantly, how do the things you have begun to long for in life just now – represent a strong message to you that you must allow yourself to acknowledge the end of a cycle and the powerful potential for you to move into something wonderful andnew, even miraculous? How can you keep that in front of you not only today, but all through the year?

Then I’d say:

Beyond that general information about cycles, I believe the Ten of Spears says in no uncertain terms, “You. Yeah, you! Go on a spiritual adventure. Let yourself be open to new and incredibly transformative experience. Keep a sharp eye out for integrity, in yourself and in those around you – particularly teachers, leaders and spiritual directors. And seekspiritual renewal through the wondrous. Yes, starting RIGHT NOW. Get going! Do IT!”

So, in consideration of the fact that it’s time for you to begin an entirely new phase of your life, and in consideration that I’m reading for YOU today, let me be a little pushy and ask a couple readerly but obnoxious questions. Ahem again:

What ARE the spiritual adventures and transformative experiences and magical evolutions you’ve always kinda hungered for but never really had the courage, or cash, or whatever to pursue? Now, given that you and I are:

a.) Looking at the specific energy you are being asked to embrace to start this (suddenly new) year, and ~

b.) Bearing in mind that you are being asked to accept, own and foster this energy and therefore this transformational nature of yourself over an entire twelve month period (so you don’t think you hafta have it all together by dinner tonight) ~

c.) What dreams, hopes, changes will you PLEASE actually give yourself permission to believe in and REALLY pursue so as to have achieved them by, say, a year-and-a-day from now?

(Okay, for you Capricorns, Virgos and Aquariuses {Aquariusae?} [Ohyeah, Aquarians], you have my permission to take a minute and write the things down in a list on paper. Aquarians will have lost the list by dinner anyway.)

d.) And what are one or two baby steps you can take today and this week to begin the concrete process of demonstrating your commitment and beginning your quest? (Aquarius, that would mean finding the list. Or at least printing out the questions and taping them above your desk.)

So, will you love yourself and the world enough to take those questions on for the “New” Year? We’d all sure appreciate it!

By the way, here’s some info about how other folks see the Ten of Spears:

Some see the Ten of Spears as a card of

~ oppressive energy that is overcome to achieve success (So know that you may feel challenged by the nature of the changes or goals you give yourself permission to go after, or perhaps by those around you who don’t get the point.)

~ disguise or false seeming (That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for integrity in those you connect with, and perhaps even in yourself and your own motives.)

~ an awesome task which is successfully accomplished through perseverance (You deserve to take on something awesome. That’s what’s worthy of you and your true nature. Besides, that’s why you’re HERE right now. Right?)

So, for today and for this “New” Year:

How will you (how would you wish to) end one cycle and begin another?

How will you go on a wonderful, transformative spiritual adventure?

How will you be open to miraculous experiences, and recognize the miraculous nature of yourself?

How will you guard your integrity and seek for it in others?

How will you make this the most beautiful and wondrous of years starting today, starting now?

Bright blessings and miracles!

Quote for the Day:It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. ~ Carl Sagan, PhD [Okay, Doc. But who gets to determine which of us is stuck in delusion?]

Today’s Weather: Spellunkrolites in dollops and weezers; major artunies.

On This Date:79 – Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

And: 1784 – Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it wasn’t accepted into the United States, and only lasted for four years. [They’re still confused.]

The story of Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale that begins during the Christmas season at Camelot.

My abbreviated version: one evening at Christmastide Arthur and all the members of the court sit around after dinner, waiting for a holiday wonder. Into the great hall rides a huge green knight on a huge green horse.

Richly clad, the knight carries a bough of holly in one hand and a huge battleaxe in the other. He challenges Arthur to a “Christmas jest.” Arthur is about to accept the game when Sir Gawain, Arthur’s nephew, steps forward and says (more or less), “Yo! My liege. Somethin’ funny here. Lemme play this one for you.” The King gives his assent.

The Green Knight, obviously of the Faery realm, offers Gawain the axe and one chance to behead him, adding that if he “abide the stroke” (survives), in a year and a day the Green Knight would have the right to give him a whack in return.

Gawain takes the axe and in one blow severs the big guy’s head from his body. All the court sits back, saying, “Oh, well. Too bad. Whaddya gonna do? Somebody clean up this mess,” and so on.

At which point the Green Knight’s body leans over, picks up its head, hops on the horse and turns the head toward Gawain. The head says, “Many men know me as the knight of the Green Chapel, and if thou askest, thou shalt not fail to find me. Therefore it behoves thee to come, or to yield thee as recreant [wussy].”

So, a year later, Gawain does indeed seek him out and has several wondrous adventures, as they say, in the process.